The long-awaited reform of French seaports has finally led to the enactment of law no. 2008-660 of 4 July 2008.

Former Appleby partner and head of litigation, Nigel Clifford QC, and Nick Segal, a partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, have been appointed as part-time judges to the Financial Services Division of the Cayman Islands Grand Court.

On 14 January 2009, the European Parliament approved a directive on defence procurement seeking to create a single market for defence and security equipment and services across national borders in Europe.

The new technology is no longer a dream and Honda plans to start selling the Level 3 vehicles in March 2021.

Following the Infranews event that we hosted at the end of February, this briefing examines the current state of the infrastructure market.

The infrastructure bubble is not a bubble: instead the froth has gone, credit analysis and covenants are king, but the asset class is stable.

For six months now, the downturn has dominated the conversation, the economy and the future of an ancient and resilient pillar of world trade.

The 'wildcat' strikes seen in recent days throughout energy facilities in the UK, such as oil refineries and power stations, have the potential to cause major disruption to the operators of those facilities.

The Competition Commission has published its provisional findings in its inquiry into rolling stock leasing in the UK.

On 20 March, the FSA published a discussion paper on Transparency, disclosure and conflicts of interest in the commercial insurance market.

It is estimated that approximately 75 per cent of the world’s trade is carried by ships and with increased globalisation this figure is set to increase.

The German Parliament adopted new regulatory requirements for algorithmic and high frequency trading.

Infrastructure as an asset class is being tested as never before. Although infrastructure investors are not immune to the global financial crisis, the infrastructure sector is proving relatively resilient, albeit that changes in appetites for leverage are affecting valuations.

In collaboration with The Economist Intelligence Unit, we are pleased to offer you our views on the commercial opportunities and risks that Africa presents, most pertinently to the extractives industry.

The German government is considering enacting stronger legislation against foreign investors that it deems a threat to public security or order.

LexCounsel frequently advises on anti-bribery and anti-corruption issues especially in the corporate governance and defence areas.

When we published our report Surviving the storm at the German Ship Finance Forum this time last year, it was clear that the industry was confronted by some of the fiercest challenges in its history.

We believe the reasoning behind the drive is threefold.